News shorts 4/28/11

License plate keys crash linkup

A license plate found at one of the WSU sites which sustained damage April 19 is one of the key links to the WSU student who crashed a 1998 Jeep Cherokee on Highway 195 in south Colfax early that morning, according to Lt. Steve Hansen of the WSU police department. The driver of the Cherokee, Patrick Lipsker, 22, Spokane, remains at Sacred Heart in Spokane where he was taken by helicopter from Colfax and underwent surgery.

Four different WSU sites, including two fences, were damaged by a vehicle Tuesday night before Lipsker rolled the Cherokee in Colfax. The plate found at one of the damaged fences matched up with the Cherokee.

Hansen said officers also compared tire tracks at the campus sites with tires on the Cherokee.

Damage was sustained at WSU sites on the north edge of campus including the Palouse Ridge Golf Course, Nez Perce Apartments, Orchard Drive and the east side of the WSU student recreation center. Lt. Hansen said they are in the process of estimating damage at the sites which operate under different campus entities.

WSU student arrested in medical marijuana case

Tyler Markwart, 29, a WSU student who has been featured in area medical marijuana stories, was arrested and booked in the county jail April 19 on probable charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the report, Markwart was arrested after the Quad Cities Drug Task Force allegedly conducted marijuana purchases with the use of an informant and attempted a purchase with an undercover member of the task force.

The arrest report said Markwart at the end of February met with two members of their prosecutor’s office and a task force detective to discuss provisions on the state’s medical marijuana law.

The report said Markwart had identified himself as executive director for Allele Seed Research, Inc. The investigation report said the company allegedly had 200 registered patients in Pullman.

Officers alleged they found 24 marijuana plants in the suspect’s apartment in the 1900 block of NE Terre View after conducting a search. Grow lights and other paraphernalia were also found.

Markwart, who said he qualified as a medical marijuana patient for the past 15 years, was allowed release on his own recognizance after a first appearance in court April 20.

Weiker benefit set for May 4

A spaghetti feed to benefit Judy and Roy Weiker has been scheduled next Wednesday, May 4, in the Garfield school cafeteria from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The Weikers formerly operated Smokin’ Papas in Colfax and later moved the business to Garfield. Mrs. Weiker has been hospitalized in Spokane for several weeks.

Yefremov seeks to withdraw pleas

Yan G. Yefremov, Spokane resident who was sentenced to up to 57 months in prison here April 8 after he was convicted in three separate cases in Whitman County Superior Court, now seeks to change his pleas to not guilty. The cases involve theft or attempted theft of cars in the Pullman area last June and again in February.

Yefremov, who immigrated to Spokane from Russia, filed his request to change his pleas with the court in a letter sent from the state’s Coyote Ridge prison at Connell. He was advised by the court to contact his court-appointed defense attorney or the prosecutor’s office to initiate a motion to withdraw his plea.

A total of 15 prior convictions, dating back to 2006, were listed on the pre-sentence report for Yefremov. Most of the convictions were in Spokane County. Under the state’s standard sentencing range provisions, Yefremov’s extensive record resulted in a “9-plus” offender score which resulted in the lengthy sentence.

The 57-month sentence was for theft of a motor vehicle. He also admitted charges of taking a motor vehicle, theft and attempted theft. Prison terms on those convictions, ranging from 27 to 35 months, will be served concurrently with the 57-month term.

Order crawl space eviction

Judge David Frazier Monday ordered the owners of a unit at the Crestview Village Condominiums in Pullman to vacate a living space which they had developed in the crawl space below their unit at the condominium. They were also ordered to remove all fixtures, wiring and paneling they had installed in the crawl space and return the floor of their condominium to its former state. A door had been installed in the floor of the condominium to gain access to the crawl space area below.

The ruling followed a bench trial April 4-5 in which the Crestview Village Condominium Association brought suit against Douglas Pierce and Jane Kelley, owners of the condo unit, and Deb Pastore, a former tenant in the unit.

The Pierces were ordered to clear the improvements of the space by Monday. They were ordered to refrain from any future unlawful use of the crawl space.

The court ruled the association will be allowed to collect attorney fees for the suit because use of the crawl space for a living area was more than just a violation of the condominium regulations and the association had been placed in a position of having to file action in court.

Will Ferguson of Colfax represented the association, and Pierce, who is an attorney, represented the defendants.